Fonte Gaia

Water reached the Piazza del Campo in the heart of Siena around 1342
after years of work. A fountain was constructed the next year and was
named the Fonte Gaia, the “Fountain of Joy,” because once
water flowed freely from the completed fountain, the people of Siena
celebrated with joy. To this day, it is one of a few medieval
fountains in Siena with water supplied from ancient aqueducts and
nearby canals in the surrounding hills of Tuscany. However, when the Black Plague claimed 80,000 lives in Siena, a pagan
statue of Venus that was featured on the original fountain was blamed
and Jacopo della Quercia was commissioned to build a new fountain to
replace it. His fountain drew upon inspiration from the traditional
designs of Medieval Sienese public fountains and was built between
1409 and 1419. Fonte Gaia was again replaced by a copy of Jacopo della
Quercia’s version, with two statues of Rhea Silvia and Acca
Larentis omitted, by Tito Sarrocchi in 1858 because of the
fountain’s poor condition. The marble panels of Jacopo della Quercia’s fountain currently
reside in a room in the old Ospedale di Santa Maria della Scalla,
which overlooks Piazza Duomo. Although in poor condition, the old
fountain’s remains are known as one of the most important
sculptures produced in 15th century Italy during the transition from
the Gothic to the Renaissance styles. Furthermore, the statues of Rhea
Silvia and Acca Larentis, respectively the nurse and mother of Romulus
and Remus and a symbol of Liberality and Charity, were the first two
statues of female nudes, not including Eve or saints, to stand in a
public place.The fountain has been nicknamed the “Queen of the Sienese
fountains” because of its prime position in the Piazza del
Campo, situated at the highest elevation of all the fountains at over
1000 feet above sea level. Fonte Gaia has a rectangular basin and is
made of marble. Despite being fenced off on all sides, the beauty and
prime location of the fountain makes Fonte Gaia a definite landmark in
Siena.